Phased Beam-Alignment Pulse for Rapid Localization in 5G and 6G

ABSTRACT

Procedures are disclosed to enable a wireless device to determine its alignment direction toward a base station or another device in 5G or 6G, using a “phased beam-alignment pulse”, which is a transmitted pulse having phase modulation that varies with angle. For example, the pulse may be transmitted spanning 360 degrees of angle, and may be phase modulated varying from 0 to 360 degrees of phase in the same angular range. A user device can receive the phased beam-alignment pulse and immediately determine, from the phase, the alignment angle toward the transmitter. In another embodiment, the transmitter transmits a uniform, non-directional pulse, and the receiver receives it using an antenna configured to impose an angle-dependent phase shift, thereby indicating the alignment direction. With either method, wireless entities can align their beams rapidly and efficiently, using just one or two resource elements, without complex encoding or time-consuming handshaking.

PRIORITY CLAIMS AND RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/399,762, entitled “Phased Beam-Alignment Pulsefor Rapid Localization in 5G and 6G”, filed Aug. 22, 2022, all of whichare hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure pertains to wireless beamforming, and more particularlyto means for selecting an optimum beam direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In 5G and 6G, many communications are carried out using “beams” ordirected radiation, aimed at the intended recipient. However, a complextime-consuming procedure is required to align the beams in the rightdirections. What is needed is a simpler, more efficient procedure fordetermining an optimal beam direction for each recipient.

This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summaryand Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended tobe an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor beviewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations thatsolve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, there is non-transitory computer-readable media in abase station of a wireless network, the media containing instructionsthat when implemented in a computing environment cause a method to beperformed, the method comprising: configuring an antenna to transmitelectromagnetic energy in a range of directions between a firstdirection and a second direction, wherein the electromagnetic energy isphase modulated according to a first phase in the first direction and asecond phase in the second direction, wherein the phase variesmonotonically from the first phase in the first direction to the secondphase in the second direction; transmitting, with the antenna soconfigured, a first pulse; and receiving a reply message from a userdevice of the wireless network, the reply message indicating either ameasured phase value related to the first pulse, or an alignment anglerelated to the measured phase value.

In another aspect, there is a wireless receiver configured to: configurean antenna to receive a received signal during a first pulse ofelectromagnetic energy, and to cause a phase shift on the receivedsignal, wherein the phase shift is monotonically related to an angle ofarrival of the received signal; measure a measured phase of the receivedsignal; determine a formula that relates phase values and angularvalues; calculate, according to the formula and the measured phase, analignment direction; and transmit a message using a directional beamaimed according to the alignment direction.

In another aspect, there is a method for a first wireless entity todetermine an alignment angle toward a second wireless entity, the methodcomprising: transmitting, by the first wireless entity, a first pulseconfigured to span an angular range between a first angle and a secondangle, wherein the first pulse is phase modulated according to a firstphase value at the first angle and a second phase value at the secondangle, and wherein the phase varies monotonically from the first phasevalue at the first angle to the second phase value at the second angle;receiving, from the second wireless entity, a message indicating ameasured phase value; and calculating the alignment angle toward thesecond wireless entity, according to the first and second angles, thefirst and second phase values, and the measured phase value.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form. The concepts are further described in the DetailedDescription section. Elements or steps other than those described inthis Summary are possible, and no element or step is necessarilyrequired. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended foruse as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solveany or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

These and other embodiments are described in further detail withreference to the figures and accompanying detailed description asprovided below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of phasedbeam-alignment pulses transmitted from multiple antennas, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse formed from multiple single-phase beams transmittedin various directions around 360 degrees of angle, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2B is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse showing a correlation between angles and phases,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2C is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with a reverse slope, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2D is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasecalibrator pulse, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2E is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with four phase cycles per 360 degrees of angle,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2F is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with eight phase cycles per 360 degrees of angle,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of phasedbeam-alignment pulses with various phases in various directions,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3B is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of two beams withphase blending, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resource gridincluding several phased beam-alignment pulses, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a procedure fora user device and a base station to cooperatively determine thealignment direction, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a wirelessnetwork with phased beam-alignment pulses, according to someembodiments.

Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods disclosed herein (the “systems” and “methods”, alsooccasionally termed “embodiments” or “arrangements” or “versions”,generally according to present principles) can provide urgently neededwireless communication protocols for aligning transmission beams anddirectional reception antennas to improve communication quality. Insteadof wasting time and resources on prior-art multi-step beam alignmentprocedures, the procedures disclosed herein can enable a transmitter anda receiver to cooperatively select the best beam direction at both ends,using “phased beam-alignment pulses”. A phased beam-alignment pulse, asused herein, is a pulse of electromagnetic energy configured to have afirst phase in a first direction and a second phase in a seconddirection, with the phase varying monotonically between the twodirections.

In a first version (the “phased beam-alignment transmission pulse”version), a transmitter antenna with beamforming capability may beenergized and phased to transmit a pulse that has a range of differentphase values in a range of different directions. For example, the pulsemay have a first phase in a first direction and a second phase in asecond direction, and the phase may be varied monotonically between thetwo directions. A receiver, at some unknown angle between the first andsecond directions, and can measure the phase of the as-received pulsesignal. The received phase depends on the direction toward the receiver;hence the receiver can calculate its alignment direction toward thetransmitter from the measured phase. By this method, the receiver canachieve beam alignment toward the transmitter, based on a single briefpulse in a single resource element. This is much faster and moreresource-efficient than prior-art alignment procedures.

In some embodiments, the receiver may not know the first and secondangles, in which case the receiver can measure the received phase of thebeam-alignment pulse, and then transmit a message to the transmitterindicating the received phase. The transmitter can then calculate thealignment direction, and inform the receiver.

In a second version (the “phased beam-alignment reception pulse”version), the transmitter can transmit an ordinary non-directional pulsewith uniform phase in a wide beam that includes the first and seconddirections. The transmitted phase is constant and independent of anglefor this pulse. The receiver, on the other hand, can detect the pulseusing a phased reception antenna. For example, the receiver canconfigure its antenna to impose a delay or phase advance that depends onthe angle of arrival of the signal. The reception antenna may impose afirst phase advance on signals arriving from a first direction, and asecond phase advance on signals arriving from a second direction, andmay cause the phase advance to vary monotonically with angle. Thereceiver can then detect the pulse signal and, using the antenna withangle-dependent phase advance, can measure the phase of the receivedsignal. The receiver can then determine the alignment direction towardthe transmitter according to the measured phase.

In both versions (phased transmission and phased reception), and otherversions presented below, the alignment direction is determined whileexpending only a tiny fraction of the time and resources andtransmission power required for prior-art beam-scanning alignmentprocedures.

Reciprocity is assumed throughout, in the sense that the same alignmentangle is assumed optimal for both reception and transmission at aparticular site. In many cases, the same alignment angle (modulo 180degrees) is applicable to both of the communicating entities, althoughthis is not a requirement. For simplicity, the optimal transmission andreception direction both communicating entities will be termed “thealignment angle” or “the alignment direction”, unless otherwisespecified, and the 180-degree difference between the two directions willbe ignored.

Directions, and the angles representing them, are used interchangeablyherein. A commonly shared geographical coordinate system, such as thedirection of north, will be assumed unless otherwise indicated. The term“signal” may represent an amplitude, a power level, a power density, orother measure of transmitted or received beam intensity. The term “beam”has many closely-related usages, including directional transmittedenergy, an angular distribution of the transmitted energy, receivedenergy from a direction, and an angular distribution of the receivedenergy, for example. Clarification will be provided in text when needed.

A potential confusion pertains to the term “degrees”, which may refer toeither phase or angle. To avoid confusion, “degrees of angle” and“degrees of phase” will be used herein, depending on the intendedmeaning.

The disclosed principles enable numerous options and variations, some ofwhich follow. (a) The transmitter may transmit two phased beam-alignmentpulses in succession, in which the phase versus angle is reversed in thesecond pulse. For example, in the first pulse the phase may be equal tothe angle, and in the second pulse the phase may be equal to thenegative of the angle. (b) Each phased beam-alignment pulse can betransmitted in a single resource element or, to convey additionalinformation, in multiple resource elements. (c) Before transmitting thephased beam-alignment pulse, one of the entities can transmit a planningmessage to the other entity specifying the first and second directions,the specific symbol-times and subcarriers for transmission of thepulse(s), and whether the procedure is to use phased transmission beamsor phased reception beams, among other parameters. In addition, theplanning message, or other convention, can specify whether the phasedbeam-alignment pulses are to be ramped linearly in phase versus angle,or according to some other distribution of phase versus angle. (d) Afterboth entities have aligned their transmission and reception beams towardthe other entity, they can exchange acknowledgement messages to eachother using narrow focused transmission and reception beams at thecalculated alignment direction. The acknowledgement messages mayadditionally specify the alignment angle, the measured beam quality,suggested transmission power adjustments, and the like. (e) Thetransmitter may transmit a “calibrator” pulse before or after the phasedbeam-alignment pulse. The calibrator pulse is a wide-angle transmissionwith uniform phase between the first and second angles. The receiver canuse the phase of the calibrator pulse as a baseline, for determining thephase of the subsequent phased beam-alignment pulse by comparison. Ademodulation reference, or other transmission with a predeterminedphase, may alternatively be used as the calibrator if it spans the sameangular range as the phased beam-alignment pulse. (f) For additionalangular resolution, the transmitter can transmit additional phasedbeam-alignment pulses with different relationships between phase andangle, such as a second pulse having a higher rate of change of phaseversus angle, as well as additional pulses in which thephase-versus-angle slope is reversed. (g) After determining thealignment direction, one wireless entity may transmit an alignmentmessage to the wireless entity indicating the alignment directiongeographically, such as an angle relative to north. (h) In a network,multiple receivers can receive the same phased beam-alignment pulse, andcan thereby determine their own alignment angles at the same time. Forexample, a base station can transmit a phased beam-alignment pulse inwhich the phase varies around a 360-degree circle, and an arbitrarilylarge number of user devices can receive the pulse and measure theangle-dependent phase at their locations, thereby enabling all the userdevices to determine their alignment directions toward the base stationat the same time. Each user device can then transmit its phasemeasurements, or the calculated alignment angle, to the base station, sothat the base station can then communicate directionally. (i) For evengreater accuracy, the base station and/or the user device can use apredetermined correction function to correct nonlinearities in theas-received angular distribution. The correction function can be appliedto the measured phase or to the calculated alignment angle, depending onimplementation.

By aligning the transmission and reception beams using the disclosedresource-efficient procedures, user devices and base stations canrapidly and efficiently determine the optimal beam direction forcommunication, resulting in substantially improved communications withless energy consumption, less background radiation and interference, andimproved network performance generally, according to some embodiments.

Terms herein generally follow 3GPP (third generation partnershipproject) standards, but with clarification where needed to resolveambiguities. As used herein, “5G” represents fifth-generation, and “6G”sixth-generation, wireless technology in which a network (or cell or LANLocal Area Network or RAN Radio Access Network or the like) may includea base station (or gNB or generation-node-B or eNB or evolution-node-Bor AP Access Point) in signal communication with a plurality of userdevices (or UE or User Equipment or user nodes or terminals or wirelesstransmit-receive units) and operationally connected to a core network(CN) which handles non-radio tasks, such as administration, and isusually connected to a larger network such as the Internet. Thetime-frequency space is generally configured as a “resource grid”including a number of “resource elements”, each resource element being aspecific unit of time termed a “symbol period” or “symbol-time”, and aspecific frequency and bandwidth termed a “subcarrier” (or “subchannel”in some references). Symbol periods may be termed “OFDM symbols”(Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) in references. The timedomain may be divided into ten-millisecond frames, one-millisecondsubframes, and some number of slots, each slot including 14 symbolperiods. The number of slots per subframe ranges from 1 to 8 dependingon the “numerology” selected. The frequency axis is divided into“resource blocks” (also termed “resource element groups” or “REG” or“channels” in references) including 12 subcarriers, each subcarrier at aslightly different frequency. The “numerology” of a resource gridcorresponds to the subcarrier spacing in the frequency domain.Subcarrier spacings of 15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 kHz are defined invarious numerologies. Each subcarrier can be independently modulated toconvey message information. Thus a resource element, spanning a singlesymbol period in time and a single subcarrier in frequency, is thesmallest unit of a message. “Classical” amplitude-phase modulationrefers to message elements modulated in both amplitude and phase,whereas “PAM” (pulse-amplitude modulation) refers to separatelyamplitude-modulating two signals and then adding them with a 90-degreephase shift. The two signals may be called the “I” and “Q” branchsignals (for In-phase and Quadrature-phase) or “real and imaginary”among others. Standard modulation schemes in 5G and 6G include BPSK(binary phase-shift keying), QPSK (quad phase-shift keying), 16QAM(quadrature amplitude modulation with 16 modulation states), 64QAM,256QAM and higher orders. Most of the examples below relate to QPSK or16QAM, with straightforward extension to the other levels of modulation.QPSK is phase modulated but not amplitude modulated. 16QAM may bemodulated according to PAM which exhibits two phase levels at zero and90 degrees (or in practice, for carrier suppression, ±45 degrees) andfour amplitude levels including two positive and two negative amplitudelevels, thus forming 16 distinct modulation states. For comparison,classical amplitude-phase modulation in 16QAM includes four positiveamplitude levels and four phases of the raw signal, which aremultiplexed to produce the 16 states of the modulation scheme.Communication in 5G and 6G generally takes place on abstract message“channels” (not to be confused with frequency channels) representingdifferent types of messages, embodied as a PDCCH and PUCCH (physicaldownlink and uplink control channels) for transmitting controlinformation, PDSCH and PUSCH (physical downlink and uplink sharedchannels) for transmitting data and other non-control information, PBCH(physical broadcast channel) for transmitting information to multipleuser devices, among other channels that may be in use. In addition, oneor more random access channels may include multiple random accesschannels in a single cell. “CRC” (cyclic redundancy code) is anerror-checking code. “RNTI” (radio network temporary identity) is anetwork-assigned user code. “SNR” (signal-to-noise ratio) and “SINR”(signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio) are used interchangeably unlessspecifically indicated. “RRC” (radio resource control) is a control-typemessage from a base station to a user device. “Digitization” refers torepeatedly measuring a waveform using, for example, a fast ADC(analog-to-digital converter) or the like. An “RF mixer” is a device formultiplying an incoming signal with a local oscillator signal, therebyselecting one component of the incoming signal.

In addition to the 3GPP terms, the following terms are defined herein.An “alignment direction” or “alignment angle”, as used herein, is adirection from a first wireless entity toward a second wireless entity,or an angle corresponding to that direction, modulo 180. A “phasedbeam-alignment transmission pulse” is a transmitted pulse ofelectromagnetic energy which is configured to have a first phasemodulation at a first angle and a second phase modulation at a secondangle, with the phase modulation varying monotonically between the twoangles. In some embodiments, the first and second angles may be 0 and360 degrees of angle, thereby spanning a complete circle. A “phasedbeam-alignment reception pulse” refers to a non-directional transmissionpulse which is received using an antenna configured to impose anangle-dependent phase delay to the signal, that is, the measured phasedepends on the angle of arrival of the energy. Using either thetransmission version or the reception version, a receiver can determinethe alignment angle toward the transmitter. Wireless pulses whichindicate the direction according to the received phase are collectivelytermed “phased beam-alignment pulses” herein. In the same context, a“calibrator” pulse refers to a wireless transmission that has apredetermined uniform or constant phase modulation versus anglethroughout a range of angles. A receiver can receive the calibrationpulse non-directionally and thereby calibrate a phase level, and canthen compare that phase level with a subsequent phased beam-alignmentpulse.

Although in references a modulated resource element of a message may bereferred to as a “symbol”, this may be confused with the same term for atime interval (“symbol-time”), among other things. Therefore, eachmodulated resource element of a message is referred to as a “modulatedmessage resource element”, or more simply as a “message element”, inexamples below. A “demodulation reference” is a set of Nref modulated“reference resource elements” or “reference elements” modulatedaccording to the modulation scheme of the message and configured toexhibit levels of the modulation scheme (as opposed to conveying data).Thus integer Nref is the number of reference resource elements in thedemodulation reference. A “calibration set” is one or more amplitudevalues (and optionally phase values), of a modulation scheme. A“short-form” demodulation reference exhibits the maximum and minimum(amplitude or phase) modulation levels of a modulation scheme, fromwhich the receiver can calculate the intermediate modulation levels andthereby determine all the modulation levels of the modulation schemefrom a single short-form demodulation reference. Each modulation levelin the calibration set may have a code or number associated with it, andthe receiver can demodulate the message element by selecting themodulation level in the calibration set that most closely matches theobserved modulation level of the message element, and then assigningthat associated code or number to the message element. If the messageelement has more than one modulation level, such as amplitude and phase,then the two associated codes or numbers may be concatenated to form thedemodulated message element. Generally the modulation scheme includesinteger Nlevel predetermined amplitude or phase levels. “RF” orradio-frequency refers to electromagnetic waves in the MHz (megahertz)or GHz (gigahertz) frequency ranges. A “sum-signal” is a waveformincluding the combined signals from a plurality of separately modulatedsubcarriers. A “beam” is a directed electromagnetic transmission orreception signal, as opposed to an isotropic or non-directionaltransmission or reception. A “focused transmission beam” is a spatiallyor angularly narrow directed energy transmission from a transmissionantenna, and a “focused reception beam” is a spatially narrowsensitivity or directed receptivity distribution in a reception antenna.(Usually, the same physical antenna can be used for both transmissionand reception, and can produce both wide-angle and narrowly focusedbeams, if provided with appropriate electronics.) Beams may be generatedby multi-element antennas using analog or digital means. As mentioned,“reciprocity” is assumed herein, whereby an optimal beam direction fortransmission is the same as an optimal beam direction for reception.Directions, and the geographical angles representing them, may be usedinterchangeably. Signal strength or signal level may representamplitudes, power such as received power or transmitted power density,or other measure of intensity. As mentioned, “degrees of angle” and“degrees of phase” will be explicitly called out, to avoid confusion ofterms.

Turning now to the figures, multiple examples of phased beam-alignmentpulses are described with reference to transmitted energy from atransmitter having a certain phase distribution in the transmittedenergy. However, as will be discussed later, the same figures canrepresent an alternative embodiment in which a reception antenna isconfigured to modify a received signal according to an angle-dependentphase shift, based on the angle of arrival of electromagnetic energy.This will be explained in more detail at the end.

FIG. 1A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment transmission pulse, according to some embodiments. Asdepicted in this non-limiting example, a base station 101 transmits aphased beam-alignment pulse consisting of multiple broad beams 104, eachtransmitted beam 104 having a particular phase which is indicated by“P=45” for example, and each beam 104 is aimed at a different angle 103as indicated by “A=45” for example. A user device 102 is located betweenA=45 and A=90 degrees of angle. Each beam 104 is configured to cover asufficiently broad angular range to overlap the adjacent beams. In theexample, with just eight beams 104, a beam width of 90 degrees of anglemay enable adjacent beams 104 to partially overlap. A receiverpositioned in one of the overlap regions would measure a net phase whichis a weighted average of the phases of the two overlapping beams. Thenet phase then progresses monotonically from 0 degrees of phase at 0degrees of angle, up to 90 degrees of phase at 90 degrees of angle, andcontinuing around to 360 degrees of phase at 360 degrees of angle.

Since phase is a circular parameter, 0 degrees of phase is equivalent to360 degrees of phase, just as 0 degrees of angle is the same directionas 360 degrees of angle. An angular distribution of transmittedelectromagnetic energy may include an entire circle spanning 360 degreesof angle; such a distribution can be said to include all directions from0 to 360 degrees of angle, inclusive. Likewise, a distribution of phasemodulations that includes all phase values from 0 to 360 degrees ofphase can be said to span the range of phases from 0 to 360 degrees ofphase inclusive, notwithstanding that waves with 0 and 360 degrees ofphase are identical, and likewise 0 and 360 degrees of angle representthe same direction. In addition, the phase distribution versus angle ofthe resultant distribution, such as the phase distribution generated bythe combination of beams 104, may be configured to progressmonotonically with angle, from a first angle to a second angle. In someembodiments, the phase can be configured to vary linearly, orsubstantially linearly, from the first to the second phase. In thedepicted case, the phase varies in close correspondence with the angle,such that a phase of 180 degrees of phase is transmitted in a directioncorresponding to 180 degrees of angle, and likewise for other angles.(Contrasting arrangements are discussed below.)

The user device 102, at an arbitrary location near the base station 101,can then receive the phased beam-alignment pulse produced by the beams104 in combination, can measure the net phase at that location, and canthereby determine the alignment angle of the user device 102 relative tothe base station 101. In the depicted case, the angle of the receiverrelative to the transmitter is configured to be substantially equal tothe measured phase of the phased beam-alignment pulse as received by thereceiver, since both phase and angle progress together around thecircle. In the depicted case, the phase rotates by one turn when theangle rotates by one turn. With adjustment of the beam widths and otherparameters, the phase dependence on angle can usually be made to closelyapproximate a linear dependence. Any remaining small variationsmitigated by a correction function, as discussed below.

The example shows the 360-degree phased pulse assembled from eightsingle-phase beams 104, however there may be a different number ofsingle-phase beams in other embodiments, such as 16 or 32 of thesingle-phase beams aimed in different directions.

There are many other ways to generate a monotonic distribution of phasewith angle, besides the overlapping single-phase beams as depicted here.For example, a phased-array antenna consisting of a large number ofindividually powered emitters, can be programmed to emit the desiredphase-versus-angle transmission directly, without generating thesingle-phase beams as intermediates. In another implementation, theantenna can be energized to emit energy in a wide beam, with the phasevarying in a step-wise manner versus angle within the wide beam, whichcan produce the desired monotonic phase variation versus angle, byadjustment of the positions and sizes of the steps. It is immaterial,for present purposes, how the phased beam-alignment pulse is generatedat the antenna, so long as the transmitted pulse has a monotonicrelationship between the positional angle of the receiver and itsreceived phase.

In some embodiments, a correction function can be configured to mitigateremaining nonlinearities (if any) in the phase-angle relationship of thephased beam-alignment pulse. For example, the correction function can bea difference between the actual phase distribution and an ideally linearphase-angle relationship. The receiver, or whichever entity performs theanalysis, can then apply the correction function to negate thenonlinearities. In a first version, the correction function may beapplied to the measured phase itself, correcting the phase to eliminateor reduce nonlinearities. In a second version, the correction functionmay adjust the calculated alignment angle, with the same effect. Withsuch a correction, the receiver may thereby achieve improved precisionin the receiver localization, and improved determination of thealignment direction.

FIG. 1B is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse transmitted from multiple antenna modules,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,four antenna modules 121 together emit a phased beam-alignment pulsewhich is composed of multiple separately-generated, overlapping beams124 aimed in multiple directions, each beam 124 being phased accordingto its direction, and each beam 124 being sufficiently broad to overlapwith the adjacent beams. Phased-array antennas with digital control ofthe antenna elements can generally emit multiple beams with differentphases in multiple directions simultaneously, for example by summing thedriver amplitudes to the various antenna elements according to each ofthe beams. Multiple antenna modules 121 (in this case four) are usedbecause it is difficult for a single phased-array antenna module totransmit energy all around a 360-degree circle. By transmitting phasedenergy spanning 90 degrees of angle per antenna module, the combinationof four antenna modules 121 can cover the 0-360 range of angles.

As an alternative, the phased beam-alignment pulse, with a monotonicphase versus angle distribution, can be generated without using thedepicted single-phase beams 124. Instead, a multitude of antennaelements in each antenna module 121 may be energized and timed toproject the desired distribution of energy and phase. Any suitablestrategy for transmitting electromagnetic energy between a first andsecond angle, with a monotonic relationship between direction and phase,may be used.

FIG. 2A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse formed from multiple single-phase beams transmittedin various directions spanning 360 degrees of angle, according to someembodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a plurality ofwide beams 201 are shown versus angle (A=45 etc.). One beam is boldedfor clarity. Each beam 201 is transmitted in a particular direction(such as A=45) with a particular phase modulation (such as P=45).

A receiver 202 is shown at an angle of about 67.5 degrees of angle. Thereceiver 202 receives a wave resulting from the vector sum of the twooverlapping beams at A=45 and A=90 degrees of angle.

The resultant from all the beams 201 is shown as a dashed curve 203. Theresultant amplitude 203 is not a simple sum of the overlapping beamamplitudes, because the beams have different phases. Instead, the beamscombine trigonometrically according to the difference in their phases.In the figure, the phase difference between beams is 45 degrees ofphase, so that eight beams cover 360 degrees. In other implementations,a larger or smaller number of beams may be used. The resultant amplitude203 is shown with amplitude variations. These amplitude variations canbe greatly reduced by adjusting the width of each beam 201. However,that amplitude equalization may not be necessary, because amplitudevariations are largely irrelevant in the present application. Thealignment direction is determined by the phase of the received signal,not its amplitude.

The phase of the resultant wave in each direction is determined by thephases and spacings of the individual beams 201. For example, in adirection centered on one beam, such as the beam marked P=45 at an angleof A=45, a receiver positioned at that angle would receive the phase ofthat beam, with little or no intermingling of other beams. A receiver atan angle mid-way between two beams (such as the receiver position 202),would measure a resultant phase which is mid-way between the two phases,because the two beams contribute equally at that angle. Hence the phasemeasured by the receiver 202 is 67.5 degrees of phase at the receiver'slocation.

At other angles (other than centered on a beam or mid-way betweenbeams), the received phase is related to the width and angulardistribution of the overlapping beams; but for most practicaldistributions, the phase varies closely with angle and can beapproximated by a linear progression of phase with angle. The phasemeasurement therefore provides a direct indication of the alignmentangle at the location of the receiver. As mentioned, any (usually minor)deviations from phase-angle linearity can be mitigated by measuring ormodeling the resultant phase versus angle from the various beams, andderiving a correction function equal to a difference between themeasured distribution and an ideal linear relationship of phase versusangle, then adding or subtracting that difference to the measured phaseto cancel the nonlinearities.

FIG. 2B is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with a correlation between angles and phases,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,the received phase (P=45, etc.) of a phased beam-alignment pulse 213 isplotted versus angle (A=45 etc.). The relationship is monotonicthroughout the range of 0-360 degrees of angle. A receiver 212, locatedat 67.5 degrees of angle, measures a phase, as indicated by dottedlines. The measured phase is 67.5 degrees of phase, which is equal tothe alignment direction in this case. Thus the receiver 212 hasdetermined its alignment direction, relative to a transmitter, accordingto the phase received in a single phased beam-alignment pulse.

FIG. 2C is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with a reverse slope, according to someembodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a phasedbeam-alignment pulse 225 with a reversed (that is, negative)relationship between phase and angle, is plotted. The phasecorresponding to each angle is shown on the vertical axis, which is nowin descending order, corresponding to the reverse slope of theangle-phase relationship. The non-reversed pulse 223 of the previousfigure is also shown ghosted, for comparison.

The receiver 222 again measures the phase 224, as indicated by dottedlines, and again determines that the angle is 67.5 degrees of angle. Insome embodiments, the receiver can average the two phase measurementsand thereby obtain a more accurate value of the alignment angle. Anadvantage of performing the beam alignment measurement twice, withopposite angle-phase relationships, may be that errors due to noise andother sources may be canceled by averaging the two measurements, therebyproviding improved accuracy in the alignment angle determination.

FIG. 2D is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasecalibrator pulse, according to some embodiments. As depicted in thisnon-limiting example, a calibrator pulse 233 is a transmission having auniform phase across a wide angular range, in this case across a full0-360 degrees of angle. The transmitted phase is arbitrary butpredetermined and known to the receiver. In this case, it is 180 degreesof phase, but any calibrator phase will do, as long as the receiver 232knows what value to assign to its measurement 234. After calibrating thephase in this way, the receiver 232 can then analyze a received phase ofa phased beam-alignment pulse, while eliminating errors (such as timingdrifts that affect the calibrator and the phased beam-alignment pulse inthe same way), and can thereby obtain improved accuracy in the alignmentangle determination.

FIG. 2E is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with four phase cycles per 360 degrees of angle,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,a four-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse 243 is transmitted, with aphase distribution as plotted graphically, with phase on the verticalaxis and angle on the horizontal axis. The phase of the pulse 243 isconfigured to vary through four cycles of 0-360 degrees of phase (thatis, the phase varies from 0 to 1440 degrees of phase), in one angularrange of 0-360 degrees of angle. Stated differently, the phase spans 0to 360 degrees of phase, in an angular span of 0 to 360/N degrees ofangle, with N=4 in this case. Thus the phase varies four times morerapidly, versus angle, than in the previous single-cycle examples.

A receiver 242 measures the received phase at its position of A=67.5degrees of angle, and determines from the measurement that the receivedphase is 270 degrees of phase. However, as shown in the figure, thereare four possible angles consistent with the measured phase. Todetermine the alignment angle unambiguously, the receiver 242 maycompare the present measurement 244 with another measurement, such asthe single-cycle measurement 214 of FIG. 2B, and may thereby resolve theambiguity. In this case, the single-cycle measurement of FIG. 2B isconsistent with only one of the four possible phases in FIG. 2E. Morespecifically, the single-cycle measurement of 67.5 degrees can bemultiplied by four (corresponding to the four-cycle distribution 243),which is then compared with the four-cycle phase determination 244. Morespecifically, the single-cycle measurement of 67.5, times four (for thefour-cycle case) equals 270 degrees of angle, which is the valueobserved. Alternatively, the 270-degree result of the four-cyclemeasurement 244 may be divided by the number of cycles (4) to obtain67.5 degrees. By either analysis, the agreement indicates that the twomeasurements are consistent, and that the alignment angle is 67.5degrees of angle. The four-cycle measurement can provide higherprecision than a single-cycle measurement, due to the more rapidvariation in phase. The single-cycle measurement is still needed,however, to resolve the four-fold ambiguity.

FIG. 2F is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a phasedbeam-alignment pulse with eight phase cycles per 360 degrees of angle,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,an eight-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse 253 is shown proceedingthrough 360 degrees of phase in just 45 degrees of angle, whichcorresponds to eight phase cycles in 360 degrees of angle. A receiver252 measures 254 the phase at its location. The measurement is ambiguousbecause the same phase shows up eight times at different angles. Whencombined with the initial measurement 214, the ambiguity is resolved andthe alignment angle is determined precisely.

FIG. 3A is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of phasedbeam-alignment pulses with various phases in various directions,according to some embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example,five sinusoidal waves are shown including wave 301 with 0 degrees ofphase, wave 302 with 90 degrees of phase, wave 303 with 180 degrees ofphase, wave 304 with 270 degrees of phase, and wave 305 with 360 degreesof phase. Waves 301 and 305 look the same because a phase of 0 isequivalent to a phase of 360. For the same reason (circularity) adirection of 0 degrees of angle is equivalent to a direction of 360degrees of angle.

The waves 301-305 may represent the waveforms of five single-phase beamstransmitted in different directions. A receiver positioned at an anglecorresponding to each of these waves would detect the phase of thatwave. A receiver positioned mid-way between the two angles, receivingequal amounts of the two overlapping waves, would measure a phasemid-way between the phases of the two waves. A receiver positioned atsome other angle would receive different amounts of the two contributingwaves, and therefore would measure a phase proportionally related to theamounts of those two contributing waves. By adjusting the transmittedbeam widths to overlap with the adjacent beams, the resulting measuredphase can be configured to closely approximate a linear proportionalitybetween the phase and the angle. The resulting distribution can providea nearly proportional relationship between angle and phase atintermediate angles as well as the beam centers and the mid-way anglesbetween the beam centers. In addition, the deviation from linearity cangenerally be improved by providing more transmitted beams at moreangles, such as sixteen beams instead of the eight shown in FIG. 2A orthe four waves shown here, thereby improving further the proportionalitybetween phase and angle.

FIG. 3B is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of two beams withphase blending, according to some embodiments. As depicted in thisnon-limiting example, a first beam 311 is transmitted with a 360-degreephase at a first angle, and a second beam 312 is transmitted with a270-degree phase at a second angle. A receiver (not shown) is positionedmid-way between the first and second angles, and receives the first andsecond beams 311-312 simultaneously. Since the receiver is mid-waybetween the two beam centers, the as-received waveform 313 is the vectorsum of the two transmitted beams 311-312, which exhibits a phase of 315degrees of phase, which is mid-way between the phases of the twocontributing beams 311-312.

In a similar way, the overlapping single-phase beams of the previousexamples, if received by a receiver positioned mid-way between adjacentbeams, or at other angles, can produce a resultant waveform thatexhibits a phase between the phases of the two contributing pulses. Thereceiver can then determine its alignment angle relative to thetransmitter by measuring the phase of the resultant waveform asreceived.

FIG. 4 is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a resource gridincluding several phased beam-alignment pulse examples, according tosome embodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a resourcegrid 401 consists of resource elements defined by subcarriers 402 infrequency and symbol-times 403 in time. A phased beam-alignment pulse404 (“P1”) is transmitted in one resource element. A receiver canmeasure the as-received phase of the P1 pulse 404 and thereby determinethe alignment angle of the receiver relative to the transmitter.

An optional calibrator pulse “C” 405 is shown in dash, proximate to thephased beam-alignment pulse 404. The receiver can measure the phase ofboth pulses 404-405, calculate the difference in phases, and therebymitigate noise and interference in determining the alignment angle.Alternatively, an optional short-form demodulation reference “SF” 406 isshown, providing the same information. A short-form demodulationreference is a demodulation reference in one or two resource elementsexhibiting the maximum and minimum modulation (such as amplitude orphase) levels of the modulation scheme, and can thereby provide acalibration phase from which the receiver can then determine the phaseof the phased beam-alignment pulse 404. As a third option, a DMRS(demodulation reference signal) 407 is shown, which also provides aphase reference but with complex encoding.

In addition, a set of phased beam-alignment pulses 408 is shownaccording to FIG. 2C or 2E, including an optional calibrator pulse C, afirst single-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse P1, then a reversedsingle-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse P-1 as in FIG. 2C, and finallyan optional four-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse P4 as in FIG. 2E. Theset of pulses 408 is shown time-spanning, that is, occupying successivesymbol-times at a particular subcarrier.

Also shown is another set of phased beam-alignment pulses 409, includingan optional calibrator pulse, a single-cycle phased beam-alignment pulseP1, an optional reversed four-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse P-4 (asin FIG. 2E but with opposite slope), followed by an optional eight-cyclephased beam-alignment pulse P8 as in FIG. 2F. The set of pulses 409 isshown transmitted frequency-spanning, that is, occupying successivesubcarriers at a single symbol-time. Transmitting the various pulsessimultaneously in successive subcarriers can save time, but would bequite demanding in terms of both transmitter antenna performance andreceiver performance. Transmitting the pulses time-spanning may beeasier to transmit for many transmitters, and easier to measure for manyreceivers. For further accommodation, the time-spanning pulses 408 maybe spaced apart by a gap or symbol-time of no transmission, or thefrequency-spanning pulses 409 may be spaced apart in frequency byleaving a blank subcarrier between pulses.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a procedure fora user device and a base station to cooperatively determine thealignment direction, according to some embodiments. As depicted in thisnon-limiting example, a beam alignment session may be triggered by atleast four possible events: 501 a semi-persistently scheduled time forautomatically transmitting phased beam-alignment pulse(s), 502 a newuser device is registering in the network and needs alignment service,503 a mobile user device has relocated and therefore requests analignment pulse, or 504 the base station loses contact with a previouslybeam-connected user device. Optionally, 505 the base station maytransmit a calibrator pulse consisting of a non-directional, uniformlyphased signal pulse to provide a phase baseline for comparison with thephased beam-alignment pulse. At 506, the base station then transmits asingle-cycle phased beam-alignment pulse in a single resource element,with the phase of the transmitted pulse configured to correspond to theangular position, such as the phase (in degrees of phase) being equal tothe angle (in degrees of angle). The phase may be relative to thecalibrator pulse (or another phase reference), and the angle may berelative to a predetermined direction such as geographic north. The userdevice measures the phase at its location.

At 507, optionally, the base station may transmit a second,single-cycle, reverse phased beam-alignment pulse, and/or various otherconfigurations with multiple phase cycles per 360-degree angle, forexample. The user device measures the received phase for each of thesepulses.

At 508, the user device calculates its alignment angle according to thephase detected. Correction factors, if known, may be applied. The userdevice may then inform the base station of the alignment angle so thatthe base station can subsequently communicate directionally.Alternatively, at 509, the user device can transmit the measured phase(or phases, if there are multiple alignment pulses) to the base station,and the base station can calculate the alignment angle including anycorrection factors, and may then inform the user device of the alignmentangle. Thereafter, at 510, the base station and the user device cancommunicate using narrow directed beams, aimed according to thealignment direction, for enhanced signal reliability and reducedbackground generation.

FIG. 6 is a schematic showing an exemplary embodiment of a wirelessnetwork with phased beam-alignment pulses, according to someembodiments. As depicted in this non-limiting example, a wirelessnetwork 605 includes a base station 601 and a plurality of user devices602 such as mobile phones, routers, vehicles, and computers. The basestation 601 emits a calibration pulse 604 followed by a phasedbeam-alignment pulse 603, which in this case is a single-cycle phasedbeam-alignment pulse, with the phase variation indicated crudely by acluster of arcs. The user devices 602 can measure the pulses 604-605 andmeasure the received phase of the phased beam-alignment pulse 603, andcan thereby determine their alignment direction 606 relative to the basestation.

Thus the base station and an arbitrary number of user devices have allaligned their beams, while consuming just one resource element for onephased beam-alignment pulse (or at most a small number of such pulses ifreversed or multi-cycle pulses are desired).

Each of the foregoing examples was presented as transmitted beams orpulses having various phase relationships, from which a receiver candetermine its angular position relative to the transmitter. As analternative method, the transmitter can transmit an ordinary pulse ofelectromagnetic energy with the same phase in all directions, while thereceiver can receive the transmission using a phased receptionconfiguration of its antenna. The receiver can thereby determine itsalignment angle based on the measured phase using that antenna as anangle-dependent phase transducer. For example, the transmitter cantransmit a single pulse of energy, in all directions around 360 degreesof angle, and with the same predetermined phase in all directions. Thereceiver can configure its reception antenna to produce a phase shift ofthe received signal, the phase shift being proportional to the angle ofarrival of the signal. The receiver can then measure the as-receivedphase (including the imposed angle-dependent phase shift) and canthereby determine the alignment angle toward the transmitter.

In an embodiment, the transmitter may be a user device, such as areduced-capability user device that lacks beamforming capabilityentirely, while the receiver is the base station. The reduced-capabilityuser device transmits an ordinary pulse isotropically. The base station,on the other hand, usually has a versatile antenna capable of performinga phase measurement using the reception phased beam-alignmentconfiguration, and can thereby determine the direction toward the userdevice according to the phase of the received pulse based on the angleof arrival. The base station can then direct downlink messages towardthe user device using a narrow focused transmission beam. Thereduced-capability user device may detect the downlink message using itsnon-directional antenna. The base station would probably not waste timetransmitting the alignment message to the user device in this case,because the user device, lacking directionality, has no use for thatinformation.

For extra precision, the transmitter can transmit a secondnon-directional non-phased pulse, and the receiver can configure thereception antenna to have a reversed distribution of phase delay versusarrival angle, and can measure the second transmission. By averaging thetwo phase measurements, the receiver can thereby determine the alignmentangle while canceling certain noise distortions, as suggested in FIG.2C. The receiver can also configure the reception antenna to provide twoor four or eight phase cycles per 360 degrees of angle, and can measurethe received phase of a third pulse using that reception configuration,as suggested in FIGS. 2E and 2F.

There are many ways to prepare such an angle-dependent phase response ofa reception antenna, using a phased-array antenna with multipleindependently-processed reception elements. In one embodiment, thereceiver can configure the reception antenna to have an angle-dependentphase relationship by preparing a plurality of directional reception“beams” (that is, angular regions of enhanced receptivity), eachreception beam causing a different phase shift in the received signal.Then the received signal, produced by a wave arriving at the receptionantenna from a particular direction, is the merged sum of the variousreception beams that overlap in the particular direction. The receivedsignal then includes the desired phase-versus-angle relationship, sothat the receiver can determine its alignment direction directly fromthe phase of the received signal. In particular, if the transmitter islocated between two of the reception beams, the received signal willexhibit a phase intermediate between those two reception beams, assuggested in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

To receive signals around a full 360-degree circle, the receiver mayinclude multiple reception antennas, such as four, oriented in differentdirections.

In other words, each of the foregoing examples can apply to a receiverwith an antenna (or a plurality of antenna modules) configured to imposean angle-dependent phase shift on the received signal, the phase shiftbased on the arrival direction of the received signal. In addition, eachexample can apply equally well to a transmitted phased pulse in whichthe angle-phase relationship is imposed by the transmitter. In eitherconfiguration, (angle-dependent transmitter or angle-dependent receiver)the receiver can determine its alignment angle from the measured phaseof the as-received pulse.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may enable base stations andwireless devices to align their transmission and reception beams in amanaged network. In a non-managed network such as an ad hoc networkamong mobile user devices, the communicating entities can align theirbeams in the same way, but with one of the mobile user devicestemporarily assuming the role of the base station and communicating on asidelink channel.

The systems and methods may enable wireless devices to align theirreception and transmission beam directions quickly and efficiently, withlittle consumption of resource elements. A single phased beam-alignmentpulse may enable an arbitrary number of user devices to determine theiralignment directions simultaneously, further minimizing time and energyusage. The systems and methods may thereby provide improvedcommunication reliability with less energy consumption and lessbackground generation, thereby enhancing network function and usersatisfaction overall.

The wireless embodiments of this disclosure may be aptly suited forcloud backup protection, according to some embodiments. Furthermore, thecloud backup can be provided cyber-security, such as blockchain, to lockor protect data, thereby preventing malevolent actors from makingchanges. The cyber-security may thereby avoid changes that, in someapplications, could result in hazards including lethal hazards, such asin applications related to traffic safety, electric grid management, lawenforcement, or national security.

In some embodiments, non-transitory computer-readable media may includeinstructions that, when executed by a computing environment, cause amethod to be performed, the method according to the principles disclosedherein. In some embodiments, the instructions (such as software orfirmware) may be upgradable or updatable, to provide additionalcapabilities and/or to fix errors and/or to remove securityvulnerabilities, among many other reasons for updating software. In someembodiments, the updates may be provided monthly, quarterly, annually,every 2 or 3 or 4 years, or upon other interval, or at the convenienceof the owner, for example. In some embodiments, the updates (especiallyupdates providing added capabilities) may be provided on a fee basis.The intent of the updates may be to cause the updated software toperform better than previously, and to thereby provide additional usersatisfaction.

The systems and methods may be fully implemented in any number ofcomputing devices. Typically, instructions are laid out on computerreadable media, generally non-transitory, and these instructions aresufficient to allow a processor in the computing device to implement themethod of the invention. The computer readable medium may be a harddrive or solid state storage having instructions that, when run, orsooner, are loaded into random access memory. Inputs to the application,e.g., from the plurality of users or from any one user, may be by anynumber of appropriate computer input devices. For example, users mayemploy vehicular controls, as well as a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen,joystick, trackpad, other pointing device, or any other such computerinput device to input data relevant to the calculations. Data may alsobe input by way of one or more sensors on the robot, an inserted memorychip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, optical media, magneticmedia, or any other type of file-storing medium. The outputs may bedelivered to a user by way of signals transmitted to robot steering andthrottle controls, a video graphics card or integrated graphics chipsetcoupled to a display that maybe seen by a user. Given this teaching, anynumber of other tangible outputs will also be understood to becontemplated by the invention. For example, outputs may be stored on amemory chip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, optical media,magnetic media, or any other type of output. It should also be notedthat the invention may be implemented on any number of different typesof computing devices, e.g., embedded systems and processors, personalcomputers, laptop computers, notebook computers, net book computers,handheld computers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, and also on devices specifically designed forthese purpose. In one implementation, a user of a smart phone orWi-Fi-connected device downloads a copy of the application to theirdevice from a server using a wireless Internet connection. Anappropriate authentication procedure and secure transaction process mayprovide for payment to be made to the seller. The application maydownload over the mobile connection, or over the Wi-Fi or other wirelessnetwork connection. The application may then be run by the user. Such anetworked system may provide a suitable computing environment for animplementation in which a plurality of users provide separate inputs tothe system and method.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is not adefinition of the invention but is a description of one or morepreferred exemplary embodiments of the invention. The invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments(s) disclosed herein, but rather isdefined solely by the claims below. Furthermore, the statementscontained in the foregoing description relate to particular embodimentsand are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the inventionor on the definition of terms used in the claims, except where a term orphrase is expressly defined above. Various other embodiments and variouschanges and modifications to the disclosed embodiment(s) will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the specificcombination and order of steps is just one possibility, as the presentmethod may include a combination of steps that has fewer, greater, ordifferent steps than that shown here. All such other embodiments,changes, and modifications are intended to come within the scope of theappended claims.

As used in this specification and claims, the terms “for example”,“e.g.”, “for instance”, “such as”, and “like” and the terms“comprising”, “having”, “including”, and their other verb forms, whenused in conjunction with a listing of one or more components or otheritems, are each to be construed as open-ended, meaning that the listingis not to be considered as excluding other additional components oritems. Other terms are to be construed using their broadest reasonablemeaning unless they are used in a context that requires a differentinterpretation.

1. Non-transitory computer-readable media in a base station of awireless network, the media containing instructions that whenimplemented in a computing environment cause a method to be performed,the method comprising: a) configuring an antenna to transmitelectromagnetic energy in a range of directions between a firstdirection and a second direction, wherein the electromagnetic energy isphase modulated according to a first phase in the first direction and asecond phase in the second direction, wherein the phase variesmonotonically from the first phase in the first direction to the secondphase in the second direction; b) transmitting, with the antenna soconfigured, a first pulse; and c) receiving a reply message from a userdevice of the wireless network, the reply message indicating either ameasured phase value associated with the first pulse, or an alignmentangle related to the measured phase value.
 2. The media of claim 1,wherein the first pulse and the message are transmitted according to 5Gor 6G technology.
 3. The media of claim 1, the method further comprisingtransmitting a second pulse of electromagnetic energy, wherein a phasemodulation of the second pulse is constant in the range of directionsbetween the first direction and the second direction.
 4. The media ofclaim 1, the method further comprising: a) reconfiguring the antenna totransmit electromagnetic energy modulated according to the second phasein the first direction and the first phase in the second direction; andb) transmitting, with the antenna so reconfigured, a second pulse. 5.The media of claim 1, wherein: a) the antenna comprises a plurality ofantenna modules, each antenna module oriented in a different moduledirection, the module directions equally spaced around a 360 degreecircle; b) wherein the range of directions includes angles spanning 0 to360 degrees of angle; and c) wherein the phase modulation includesphases spanning 0 to 360 degrees of phase.
 6. The media of claim 5, themethod further comprising: a) adjusting the antenna to transmitelectromagnetic energy with phase modulation spanning 0 to 360 degreesof phase in angles spanning 0 to 360/N degrees of angle, wherein Nequals an integer larger than 1; and b) transmitting , with the antennaso adjusted, a third pulse.
 7. The media of claim 1, the method furthercomprising: a) determining a correction function comprising a differencebetween a linear formula and a distribution of transmitted phase in thefirst pulse; b) determining a phase correction according to the measuredphase value and the correction function; c) adding or subtracting thephase correction to the measured phase value; and d) determining acorrected alignment direction according to the measured phase valueincluding the phase correction.
 8. The media of claim 1, wherein: a) thetransmitted electromagnetic energy comprises a plurality of directedbeams, each directed beam having a particular phase, a particulardirection, and a particular angular width; and b) wherein the directedbeams are configured to at least partially overlap with at least oneother directed beam of the plurality of directed beams.
 9. The media ofclaim 1, wherein the first pulse is transmitted in exactly one resourceelement.
 10. The media of claim 9, wherein the transmittedelectromagnetic energy is configured such that a phase of theelectromagnetic energy varies monotonically from a first direction to asecond direction.
 11. A wireless receiver configured to: a) configure anantenna to receive a received signal during a first pulse ofelectromagnetic energy, and to cause a phase shift on the receivedsignal, wherein the phase shift is monotonically related to an angle ofarrival of the received signal; b) measure a measured phase of thereceived signal; c) calculate, according to the measured phase, analignment direction; and d) transmit a message using a directional beamaimed according to the alignment direction.
 12. The wireless receiver ofclaim 11, further configured to: a) determine a first angulardistribution comprising a plurality of measurements at a plurality ofangles, each measurement of the plurality of measurements comprising ameasured phase shift of a signal, and each angle of the plurality ofangles comprising an angle of arrival of the signal; b) determine anangular correction value comprising a difference between the firstdistribution and a linear relationship between phases and angles; and c)adding or subtracting the angular correction value to or from thealignment direction.
 13. The wireless receiver of claim 11, furtherconfigured to: a) configure the antenna to cause zero phase shift on thereceived signal; b) receive, with the antenna configured to impose zerophase shift, a calibrator pulse; c) measure a calibrator phase accordingto the calibrator pulse; and d) compare the measured phase of the firstpulse to the calibrator phase of the calibrator pulse.
 14. The wirelessreceiver of claim 11, further configured to: a) reconfigure the antennato impose a reverse shift on the received signal, wherein for eachparticular angle of arrival of the signal, the reverse shift is oppositeto the phase shift ; b) receive, using the antenna so reconfigured, asecond pulse of electromagnetic energy; c) measure a second phase of thesecond pulse, as received with the antenna so reconfigured; d)determine, according to the second phase, a second alignment direction;and e) calculate an average of the alignment direction and the secondalignment direction.
 15. The wireless receiver of claim 11, furtherconfigured to: a) adjust the antenna to impose a multi-cycle phase shifton the received signal, wherein the multi-cycle phase shift increases by360 degrees of phase when the angle of arrival increases by 360/Ndegrees of angle, N being an integer greater than 1; b) receive, usingthe antenna so adjusted, a third pulse of electromagnetic energy; c)measure a third phase of the third pulse as received with the antenna soadjusted; d) compare the third phase to a third predetermined formulathat relates multi-cycle phase values to angular values; and e)determine, according to the third predetermined formula and the thirdphase, a third alignment direction.
 16. A method for a first wirelessentity to determine an alignment angle toward a second wireless entity,the method comprising: a) transmitting, by the first wireless entity, afirst pulse configured to span an angular range between a first angleand a second angle, wherein the first pulse is phase modulated accordingto a first phase value at the first angle and a second phase value atthe second angle, and wherein the phase varies monotonically from thefirst phase value at the first angle to the second phase value at thesecond angle; b) receiving, from the second wireless entity, a messageindicating a measured phase value; and c) calculating the alignmentangle toward the second wireless entity, according to the first andsecond angles, the first and second phase values, and the measured phasevalue.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: a) transmitting,proximate to the first pulse, a calibrator pulse configured to span theangular range between the first angle and the second angle, wherein thecalibrator pulse is phase modulated at a constant phase value betweenthe first angle and the second angle.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the first pulse and the calibrator pulse occupy sequentialsymbol-times of a single subcarrier on a resource grid.
 19. The methodof claim 17, wherein the first pulse and the calibrator pulse occupysequential subcarriers of a single symbol-time on a resource grid. 20.The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second wireless entitiesare mobile wireless devices and the first pulse is transmitted on afrequency allocated for sidelink communications.